Hey everyone,
By now, you’ve hopefully checked out Our Story on backroadspepperco.com—you know, the spicy saga of how our pepper-packed adventures began. But what about us? The dynamic duo behind the heat—Beth and John? Buckle up, it’s story time.
So, I’m John. As a kid, I was your classic neighborhood kid — football in one hand, a baseball bat in the other, and probably some sort of minor injury from doing something I definitely wasn’t supposed to do. I’ve always been obsessed with hot rods and muscle cars (still working on actually building one, but hey, a guy can dream).
From ages 18 to 28, I worked in a body shop at a Ford dealership. Banged up cars, fixed-up fenders, and paint, the whole shebang. Then one day I thought, “Hmm...what if instead of fixing cars, I fixed people?” Logical, right? So off I went to college for Surgical Technology. Turns out, humans are way squishier than fenders, but I got the hang of it and became pretty good at it too.
Fast forward a couple of years: I graduated, landed a job at a big city hospital, and climbed the ranks to Lead Surgical Tech in a couple of surgical specialties. Not too shabby for a former Panel Beater.
And guess what? That’s where I met Beth. (Insert romantic music here.) But I’ll let her take the mic from here…
Hi, I'm Beth—aka the quieter half of this pepper-powered partnership.
Back in my school days, I was one of those kids who kind of flew under the radar. Not the class clown, not the prom queen—just casually doing my thing. I dabbled in baton twirling (yes, with actual twirls), tickled the ivories on piano, gave the clarinet a whirl, and danced for a whopping 14 years. Basically, I was a one-woman talent show with no commercial breaks.
When I wasn’t pirouetting or perfecting a piano recital, I was camping with my grandparents—modern camping, thank you very much. That means yes to electricity and running water, and no to digging a hole in the woods. My summers were spent at camp, making memories with an awesome group of friends who are still part of my story.
I kicked off college life at Allegheny but quickly realized that the University of Pittsburgh was more my vibe—go Panthers. I majored in Psychology (because understanding why people do what they do seemed useful). That summer job I picked up along the way? Yeah, it turned into a full-blown career plot twist.
Fast forward through what felt like 87,000 hours of school, I became a Registered Nurse, snagged a Master’s in Nursing Leadership and Administration (because why not go big?), and I’m still rocking with the same healthcare organization I started with. Fun fact: It’s also the place where I met John.
We crossed paths about 8 years into my nursing journey, after a few “character-building” life choices. Let’s just say when I met John, things finally started making a whole lot more sense. We’ve now been married for—gasp—9 years (yep, this week!). And while I never would’ve guessed our love story would involve surgical instruments and spicy peppers… here we are.